Students Win Big at Collegiate DECA International Conference

Belmont students showed their business and leadership skills with their best ever performance at the 2012 Collegiate DECA International Career Development Conference, which was held April 21-24 in Salt Lake City. Twenty-nine Belmont students competed in nine events at the international competition, with 25 of the Belmont participants reaching the finals in their respective events, a phenomenal accomplishment given the more than 1,200 students overall who competed. Belmont students swept the Entrepreneurial Challenge category and placed first in two of the nine events.

Management Professor and Director of the Center for Entrepreneurship Dr. Jeff Cornwall, Management Professor Dr. Robert Lambert and Center for Entrepreneurship Program Coordinator Lisa Davis serve as the advisors for Belmont’s DECA team. “This is the hardest working team we have taken to compete and the results are the fruits of their efforts,” Cornwall said. “Our students were working through most of the night on their business ideas and pitches. We are so proud of every single member of this year’s team.”

Collegiate DECA is the college division of DECA, Inc., whose mission DECA is to prepare emerging leaders and entrepreneurs for careers in marketing, finance, hospitality and management. More than 15,000 students from 200 college campuses participate in the organization. Collegiate DECA enhances the student’s college experience by providing recognition and leadership activities directly related to academic study.